Organism

This was an experiment in loops. I liked some of the organ loops so much I wanted to see what I could do with sort of a "call and response" between an organ and the rest of the orchestra. All of the melodies in here are loops except for the sort of toccata-sounding part about 2/3 of the way through, which is me, to quote a former commenter, "trying to be Bach and failing miserably." Also the ending is just a standard faux-Baroque Picardy third chord progression that I wrote. But the rest is loops, chopped up and reorchestrated and so forth.

So glad you're bach!
I missed you, and your return didn't disappoint me! This is very fun!
Quite creative... and I must admit, *your* tocatta is what I liked best
about it. I would suggest a couple things that might make it sound a
little better, though. In the intro, when the organ comes in, it sounds
slightly early on the beat to me, and, too abrupt... I would possibly
very slightly arpeggiate (roll?) the initial chord so it doesn't hit all at
once. I like the melody played by the glockenspiel & flutes and the
hand-off to the organ via timpani rolls (I wouldn't use so many
repeated cymbal hits though.) I might add a teeny bit of reverb to the
flute & other instruments, they sounded a little dry. Anyway, I only nit-
pick things if they interest me, and this is delightful, great job on this!
I also like your pipe-organic-fractal-baroque artwork, I always
envisioned the air blasting out of the pipes doing those little chaotic
vortex-swirls. I am glad to see more stuff from you... I've been patient,
ever since you wandered off, saying "Owl be Bach."
ttfn,
Drakonis

Eduard knows
I think the dragon man has given you very good advice here, to which I
would add only this, at the risk of redundancy: When simulating real
wind instruments, it is very advantageous to keep in mind a player's
breaths.

This is important with all wind instruments, but especially so with
flutes, as they use the most wind the quickest. If you have long phrases
without a breath, a beautiful tone playing an interesting part becomes
somehow vaguely unsettling to the listener. In this case, an easy
correction would make a significant difference in the listener's
experience.

That aside, this is a wonderful composition and it serves as an
excellent example of how to use the tools at hand creatively and
successfully.

nice, clear instrumentation.
I liked the short tocatta and fugue section. There were a couple of organ
entrances that were a bit overwhelming, and I agree that a slightly
arpeggiated entrance for your organ at those times would be in order. I
liked the instrumentation. You did an artistic job at building a
composition with loops, and you should be proud of this effort.

nice, clear instrumentation.
I liked the short tocatta and fugue section. There were a couple of organ
entrances that were a bit overwhelming, and I agree that a slightly
arpeggiated entrance for your organ at those times would be in order. I
liked the instrumentation. You did an artistic job at building a
composition with loops, and you should be proud of this effort.

Loops don't kill people
PEOPLE with loops kill people. Like any tool, be it hammer, pencil, or Gibson guitar, the end product is only going to be as good as the skill/talent of the person wielding that tool. Not many untalented hacks can pick up a guitar and start piecing a song together. But just because any monkey with a Mac can slap seventeen loops together and call it a "composition" doesn't mean that when a person with skill/talent and taste uses the same tool that they can not make a piece that is more than the sum of it's parts.

Suggestive Looping...
When anyone hears something in a piece of music, whether it be Bach,
The Rolling Stones, Stan Getz, Madonna, loops,... whatever --- and it
*suggests* something to them --- it can become a valid musical
interpretation, IF they follow up on it.

To my ears, without your introductory note, I would have a difficult time
discerning where the loops end and your interpretation begins. So I would
say you've succeeded pretty well with this exercise.

Organic organism
I liked it, I really appreciated the organon of your work, the generation of ideas, springing forth from your opening themes, like riffs. Good job. Regardless of "looping," my impression of your piece was that it was a fairly mature study in chords, but could have used some modulations to spice it up a bit.

Thanks for your comments!
I was really interested to hear from those of you who weighed in on the loops thing, and to those who had specific ideas on how to improve the piece, they have been noted, agreed with, and appreciated very much. Thank you for the Insightful and constructive notes, and for taking the time and thought to post them.

I was swaying back and forth enjoying what you have done...
Then it ended with the standard chord progression. :-(
(Note: I don't read comments or descriptions until after I listen. It
allows me to get my own impression before I see what the artist's is.
So, even though you mentioned it, I didn't read your description about
the progression until after I heard it.)

The ending, for me, doesn't feel like it fits with the rest of the piece.

Have you tried adding a simple trill or small arpeggio over the top of
the last few chords?

Other than that small nitpick, I think you did an excellent job in putting
together the loops and your addition.

What do I think...
Hi Margaritte - I'm visiting you today because your name showed up in
the last of many that appeared in a thread to be supportive to a
macjammer - That's very cool, because it was me! My apologies for not
having commented on this piece, because I remember that I had
listened to it. I probably thought then, what I'm thinking today... -- I
don't feel so qualified to make any worthwhile commets except to say
that I thouroughly enjoyed this. I don't know what else to listen for --
Technically, I"m sure that I can dig up all of the things that the pros
might already know to share w/ you, but then, this might ruin my
experience. And the exchange between you and the pros would be abit
more valuable, I'm sure. So until I become a pro, I will just leave you w/
my grattitude for having presented me w/ this opportunity to stop by
to listen to something that I thought was masterfully excecuted, but
then again, what do I know... Thank you!!! Dion

What do I think...
Hi Margaritte - I'm visiting you today because your name showed up in
the last of many that appeared in a thread to be supportive to a
macjammer - That's very cool, because it was me! My apologies for not
having commented on this piece, because I remember that I had
listened to it. I probably thought then, what I'm thinking today... -- I
don't feel so qualified to make any worthwhile commets except to say
that I thouroughly enjoyed this. I don't know what else to listen for --
Technically, I"m sure that I can dig up all of the things that the pros
might already know to share w/ you, but then, this might ruin my
experience. And the exchange between you and the pros would be abit
more valuable, I'm sure. So until I become a pro, I will just leave you w/
my grattitude for having presented me w/ this opportunity to stop by
to listen to something that I thought was masterfully excecuted, but
then again, what do I know... Thank you!!! Dion

Trying to be Bach....
....and coming out like a forgotten section of Tubular Bells..... But jokes
aside, this is a pretty cool piece. The call/response definitely works
between the flute and the organ, and the occasional bits of glockenspiel
are fine too. I just wish you hadn't thrown in that very fake sounding
orchestra at the end. -- Victor.

Your orchestral sense...
...really shines through, here. I love the way you drop out of the dense forest, into a clearing of sad light, and then back into the dark. Shades of Bach in the cathedral.
Awesome, Magritte.

i can't believe
that this is all loops. very impressive. i haven't really messed with them too much (except when i'm looking for an obvious "loop" sound). that was great, I could hear it in a scene from "the royal tenenbaums" followed by a quick seque to something like the ramones. great stuff. how long did that take you to complete?

The Organster
Magritte, this is some powerful--and I do mean powerful!--music. But there's a bit too much power when the organ comes in at the beginning. I think Drakonis commented on that already. Also, toward the end, the tampanis seem to be losing their battle against The Organster; they may need to come up just a bit. But all in all, this flows very nicely and I certainly wouldn't refer to you as a "failing Bach." I enjoyed this immensely!

Hi all -- I'm back, to some extent. Having moved from the middle of Los Angeles to a nice quiet city in Orange County, I've been rediscovering some of my old hobbies, and making music is one of them. Hope to get more involved again soon!
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